CINCINATTI — Somehow, Rutgers found a way to gut out a victory in a place the Scarlet Knights rarely win, and do it largely without the players they couldn’t do without. And when Rutgers’ 10-3 upset of Cincinnati was over, coach Kyle Flood clasped Savon Huggins in a bearhug, his celebratory greeting short, sweat and succinct:
We did it!
On a day when multiple media entities reported No. 22 Rutgers (9-1, 5-0 Big East) — along with the ACC’s Maryland — could be bound for the Big Ten, the Scarlet Knights took a huge step toward winning their first title in the league in which they still actually play.
Flood, the coach who succeeded Greg Schiano, is a win away from succeeding where the latter failed, a victory over No. 20 Louisville in the regular-season finale away from Rutgers’ first BCS bowl bid. And it was Huggins, who stood in for injured Jawan Jamison — along with a dominant defensive effort — that helped make it possible.
“It’s an amazing feeling. Words can’t describe how I feel. But right now it’s everything I hoped,’’ said Huggins, who had a career-high 179 yards on a school-record 41 carries. “Right now I just want to seize the moment, enjoy it and when we get back home it’s time to work.’’
Their win at Nippert Stadium — where they had been 1-6-1 and hadn’t won since 1987 — was far more hard work than work of art. Quarterback Gary Nova threw two red-zone interceptions and the Knights had a field goal blocked. But their defense had three sacks, two interceptions, eight tackles for losses and countless big plays.
Rutgers held the league’s highest-scoring offense off the board until a Tony Miliano field goal with just 11 seconds left. And even though they can take the title with a victory next weekend at Pittsburgh if Louisville loses to Connecticut, they’re not interested in back-dooring their way to the Orange Bowl.
“We don’t want it to come down to anyone else,’’ said cornerback Logan Ryan, who had a key late pick. “Championships aren’t trickle-down. You have to take them. That’s something we’ve never done here before. We want to take this one.’’
They put themselves in position to do just that. Nova threw a 71-yard TD to Mark Harrison with 6:13 left in the half. Free safety Arryn Chenault bit on a play-action fake to leave 5-foot-9 Camerron Cheatham alone on the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Harrison, who ran through a desperate diving tackle attempt.
When Cincinnati (7-3, 3-2) went for it on fourth-and-inches from the Rutgers 7 in the third quarter, the line got penetration and linebacker Khaseem Greene filled the gap for a huge stop. Nick Borghese’s 42-yard kick with 7:59 left capped off a dozen-play, 6:49 march and essentially iced the win.
“We feel like somebody’s disrespecting us when they go for it on fourth down. We take that real personal, and that was the message: If they’re going to go for it, we’re going to make them pay,’’ said Greene, who doesn’t want to rely on a Louisville loss. “Nah, that ain’t enough for us. We want to beat everybody.’’
How long will Rutgers be in this conference? Asked about the reports of Rutgers and ACC team Maryland negotiating with the Big Ten, league commissioner Mike Aresco told The Post, “You just don’t know. You think there might be some calm descending, but you just don’t know. I’ve been around too long to make any [assumptions]. Rumors are going to swirl. I don’t think that’s ever going to stop.’’